You need to offload database information into small text files for use by financials analysts using Excel spreadsheets. After due analysis, you choose to save a COMPUTE BY statement as text. Will this work?

You need to offload database information into small text files for use by financials analysts using Excel spreadsheets. After due analysis, you choose to save a COMPUTE BY statement as text. Will this work?


Answer – No. Embedded nonnumeric characters will cause a failure.

(The COMPUTE BY results include the word “sum.” This nonnumeric result will most likely cause a comma- or tab-delimited file to fail to load in another application.)